Antique Orientalist Paintings

About this collection

Orientalist painting is the nineteenth-century European vision of North Africa and the Near East, an art of dazzling light, tiled courtyards, markets and desert horizons that gave the Salon some of its most luminous canvases.

The Orientalists painted animals with the same fascination as people, and the works here are original antique oils in period frames, from desert subjects to the big cats of Romantic painting. To explore the movement and its origins, read our guide to Orientalism.

Unsigned French oil on panel of a shepherd driving his flock through bare trees, in a carved giltwood frame

French School, early 20th century

Shepherd and Flock, 1900s

$1,900

French oil on canvas of fishing boats moored in a harbour, in a gilt frame with carved corner ornaments

French School, early 20th century

Fishing Boats in a Harbor

$1,900

Wildflowers in a blue and grey stoneware jug with green and red apples on a table, signed oil by Andre Charigny in a carved cream and red bole frame

Andre Charigny (1902-2000)

Flowers in a Blue Jug

$2,800Signed

Jules-Alexandre Grün portrait of a young sitter in a wide white collar, signed oil on canvas in a gilt frame with black frieze

Jules-Alexandre Grün (1868-1938)

Portrait in a Sailor Collar

$1,900Signed

Guides · before you buy

Reading the Frame on an Antique PaintingThe frame is half the object.Read the guide

Collecting Antique Dog PortraitsTwo of the dogs in our collection have names.Read the guide

M. François-Aubert

Roses and Cherries

$1,900Signed

Willow leaning over dark water with reeds and a gold field beyond, signed oil on canvas

James Desvarreux-Larpenteur (1847-1937)

Pollarded Willow, 1921

$1,900Signed

Signed oval portrait of a young woman in a rose gown with a short strand of pearls, dated 1925, unframed oil on canvas by Max Moreau

Max Moreau (1902-1992)

Young Woman with Pearls

$4,700Signed

Signed Venice lagoon scene by Pierre Forest, three lateen sails in ochre and rose above a blue hulled boat, oil on board in a carved giltwood frame

Pierre Forest (1881-1971)

Sailing Boats, Venice Lagoon

$2,900Signed

Sunset landscape with a shepherd and his flock in silhouette against an orange sun, in a silvered moulded frame (Etienne Mein)

Etienne Mein (1865-1938)

Oedipus and Antigone at Sunset

$3,800Signed

Paul Flaubert

La Place du Bourg, 1950s

$1,900Signed

Still life with a tall carafe and a mass of dark grapes painted in thick impasto, in a lattice-carved gilt frame (Paul Audra)

Paul Audra (1869-1948)

Grapes and a Carafe

$2,300Signed

Henri Stenn (1903-1993)

The Luxembourg Garden, Paris

$2,800

Fruit picking in a summer garden, signed oil on canvas by Sinicki in thick impasto, 20th century French school, in a gilt frame

R. Sinicki, French School, 20th century

Fruit Picking in a Garden

$3,600Signed

White dog with chestnut ears lying on stony ground, signed gouache on paper by Gaston Simoes de Fonseca

Gaston Simoes de Fonseca (1874-1943)

Pipo, a Soldier's Dog

$2,400Signed

Two polo players at the gallop with mallets raised, their chestnut ponies crossing a sunlit field, in a gilt and black frame (Claude Fossoux)

Claude Fossoux (b. 1946)

Polo Players, 1970s

$3,700Signed

Signed Daniel Jaugey painting of fishing boats in a French harbour, oil on canvas, 20th century French school, in a gilt and blue frame with carved corners

Daniel Jaugey (born 1929)

Boats in a French Harbor

$1,900Signed

Four Belle Epoque figures in a group, signed oil on canvas by Ramon Dilley dated 1973

Ramon Dilley (1932-2013)

Elstir en Famille, 1973

$2,700Signed

Celui du Bois de Boulogne, a piper with a peacock by a lake, signed oil on canvas by Ramon Dilley, 1996, in a hand painted green and gold frame

Ramon Dilley (1932-2013)

Piper with a Peacock, 1996

$4,300Signed

Portrait of a Pekingese named Kit, signed oil on panel by Ernest Jean Delahaye, circa 1910, in an oak frame

Ernest Jean Delahaye (1855-1921)

Pekingese Named Kit, c. 1910

$2,900Signed

A man in a red coat and lace cravat under a long powdered wig, French school, in a carved gilt frame

French School, 18th century

Gentleman in a Red Coat, 1700s

$4,800

A woman in orange at the races with a horse passing behind, signed oil on canvas by Michel Labonne, 1960s, in a gilt frame

Michel Labonne (1912-1990)

At the Races, 1960s

$2,700Signed

Boats in the port of Honfleur, signed 20th century French oil on canvas by Georges Berger, unframed

Georges Berger (1908-1976)

Port of Honfleur, 1900s

$1,800Signed

An avenue of trees with figures on the path, signed Henri Stenn, in a carved and whitewashed frame

Henri Stenn (1903-1993)

Tree-Lined Avenue, 1900s

$1,800Signed

Paris street scene between tall buildings, signed oil on canvas by Georges Berger dated 1975

Georges Berger (1908-1976)

Street Scene with Figures, 1975

$1,800Signed

GalerieClub Fine Art

1,100+

paintings sold since 2017

Sold Poppy Fields, late 1800s

Sold Hagar and Ishmael, 1700s

Sold Penitent Magdalene, 1600s

Our promise

Every painting photographed front and back
The frame you see is the frame that ships
Free tracked UPS Express Saver to the US

Elsewhere in the gallery

Antique Orientalist oil paintings

France took Algiers in 1830, and within a few years painters were travelling south, some with diplomatic missions, others on their own. What they sent back to the Paris Salon was a world of strong light, unfamiliar dress and animals painted as closely as the people. An antique Orientalist oil painting may show a scene of life in North Africa, or one of those animals set in a landscape the painter imagined as much as he saw.

The camel dressed for a procession, the Arab horse and the tiger in a rocky landscape were subjects in their own right. A 19th century Orientalist animal painting gives the beast the whole canvas, with the desert or the rocks reduced to a stage around it. Romantic painters shared that taste, and the big cats of their age belong as much to the Orient they dreamed of as to any zoo.

Antique Orientalist Paintings

Antique Orientalist oil paintings

01Camels, horses and big cats